Where There's A Need

March 24, 1986

The occupancy rate in Lake County's skilled nursing-care facilities is about 90 percent, according to Lynn Lamb, assistant administrator of Leesburg Regional Medical Center. The state Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services has said, though, that the 1,000 skilled nursing beds in the county are adequate. Last fall, HRS denied certificates of need -- required to operate a skilled nursing center -- for at least four companies that wanted to open centers in the county, where more than 30 percent of the population of 125,000-plus residents is 60 or older. HRS will hold an administrative hearing this summer to hear the appeals of some companies that were rejected. Meanwhile, a handful of developers have announced plans in Lake County to build congregrate-care facilities, which are state-licensed but require no certificate of need.